Fleeting
by Izzi Creo
Summary: 21. Quiet: He knew he was an oddity. 50 drabbles including all of the CSI: NY characters. Some pairings - open to interpretation.


**Disclaimer:**The characters of CSI: NY do not belong to me however this story is of my own and should only be used after permission has been asked and given. No copyright infringement intended and no profit is being made.

Summary: 21. Quiet: He knew he was an oddity.50 drabbles including all of the CSI: NY characters. Some pairings.

**Notes: **I'm not a massive drabble queen, therefore I usually don't write drabbles however this challenge was something I stumbled across earlier this morning. Basically, fifty words which become the theme for fifty drabbles. I started it to see where it went and then found that once I'd started I couldn't stop. Some drabbles are longer than others and the pairings are all jumbled so you can read into them what you will and I encourage you to do so. Some of the drabbles are obviously paired/obviously character stated but others are completely open to interpretation and I'd love to hear what people come up with. There's no wrong or right answer, it's open to intepretation so let your imagination run wild! It's set all over the seasons but I don't believe there's any spoilers to anyone unless they haven't watched the show.

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><p><strong>Fleeting<strong>

**01. Walking**

If she wanted space then he could give her space. If she needed time then it was hers. But he couldn't keep standing by watching as she walked away from him.

**02. Waltz**

One, two, three.  
>One, two, three.<br>Their killer was serial and she dreaded the moment when one turned to four.

**03. Wishes**

"I can't tell you what my wish is Daddy," Lucy replied adamantly. "It won't come true."

Danny smiled at her and secretly hoped she never came to realise that wishes didn't come true regardless.

**04. Wonder**

She wrapped her tiny hand around his finger and held on tightly. He smiled in amazement before looking up into the face of his wife, filled with such adoration. He swelled with pride before leaning across to give her a loving kiss. They'd finally done it.

**05. Worry**

"You're not the only one who worries," he told her as they lay in bed. She climbed atop him and showed him there was nothing to worry about. She was with him and nothing could take her away.

**06. Whimsy**

"You're such a loser," he chuckled after she relayed a piece of trivia to him. She just smiled when he did the same with baseball facts.

**07. Waste/Wasteland**

The sheets were cold beside him. Of course, he thought bitterly, the sheets were always cold when he woke up.

**08. Whiskey and Rum**

She orders a whiskey, ignoring him as he slips on to the stool beside her. He says nothing, orders rum and they drink in silence. The hand which isn't holding his glass is hanging between their chairs. She tentatively slips her hand into his before ordering again.

**09. War**

"Sometimes I hate you."

"Sometimes I hate you, too."

"Good, so long as we're both settled on that then."

**10. Weddings**

He hated weddings. Sure, it was a nice occasion for everyone to dress up and congratulate their friends on finding happiness. For him though, it was always a reminder of what he'd stolen from his wife.

**11. Birthday**

She snuggled into him, exhausted after seeing the last of their friends leave. The "One Today!" banner was hanging lopsidedly on the wall. She looked over at the silent baby monitor and then up into her husband's face.

"We've come a long way this past year."

**12. Blessing**

He had his parent's blessing, his sister teased that they were glad to finally get rid of him. He would have had her parent's blessing, if he could. The one blessing he wanted and needed the most, however, was Mac's.

**13. Bias**

Perhaps, just this once, he could believe her when she told him he was everything she wanted in a man.

**14. Burning**

It shouldn't bother him. She'd chosen him after all. The wedding ring and baby proved that. He still couldn't stop the jealousy from burning through his veins however when he saw them working and laughing together in the lab. He shook his head, scolding himself and wishing he'd never asked who had taken her to the opera that night oh-so-many years ago.

**15. Breathing**

He pressed the paper bag to her mouth and forced her to breathe evenly. She calmed down slowly and when her composure was restored he gave her an easy smile. She gave him a weak one of her own before flushing embarrassedly, mumbling incoherently and darting off. He watched her retreating back and questioned his helplessness.

**16. Breaking**

"I can do it!"

She stood back, tears prickling her eyes as she watched him helplessly claw his way across the floor before pulling himself back into the wheelchair. He turned away as a tear rolled down his cheek and he sniffed hard.

"I can do it."

**17. Belief**

She'd always been pushed to be the best. If she wanted something then she was to go out there and get it before someone else did. Now, holding this tiny child in her arms, she realises that she wouldn't mind in the slightest if they asked for a moment to stop and think.

**18. Balloon**

He watched from across the room as she inflated another balloon and he was suddenly reminded of his wife.

**19. Balcony**

"Nice moves, Romeo," she smirked. He'd jumped off the balcony and landed on their suspect, flattening him.

"Yeah, yeah, just put the cuffs on him," he grumbled and hobbled towards the car.

**20. Bane**

Everyone was irritated. It was hard not to be when the air con was broken and a nasty smell was engulfing the building from the morgue.

**21. Quiet**

He knew he was an oddity. He'd come to terms with that a long time ago and, more times than not, used it to his advantage. He wasn't a bad person; eccentric but not mad, comical but not sadistic. He enjoyed making the CSI's squirm and laugh for a moment, just so they could stop thinking about the hellish job they have. He liked to empathise with the bodies he worked on, just so they could be reassured that they were being looked after. No, he liked his oddity, his "creepy place", as Sheldon liked to call it. He liked to quietly alter their day, give them something else to talk about other than murder and cruel human beings.

**22. Quirks**

He had his ratty green boxers whilst she had piles of outdated magazines which she never read but refused to throw out. He thought it was an insult when she ate cold pizza the day after ordering and she thought it was hilarious that he couldn't walk past the fish market without holding his breath.

**23. Question**

When he'd ask her to marry him, he'd been sure she'd say yes. He was knocked, therefore, when she told him she didn't believe they were ready. It was only after talking to his best friend and finding out that his first marriage proposal hadn't ended well either that he realised maybe a 'no' wasn't forever.

**24. Quarrel**

They rarely argue, but when they do their neighbours threaten to phone the police. That's when they stop arguing and instead begin laughing at the irony.

**25. Quitting**

He watches as his new team stabs him in the back and wonders whether this is the life for him, after all.

**26. Jump**

She'd learnt that having a decorated detective as a father meant she had more hoops to jump through than most. Fortunately, her new partner understood this and therefore gave her even more.

**27. Jester**

When his boss throws him _that_ look, he sometimes wonders whether the class clown act should have stayed in school.

**28. Jousting**

He teases. He takes a stab and then backs off to see the effect. He just never expected her to stab back.

**29. Jewel**

He'd give her diamonds, if she really wanted them. Regardless of what allotrope they really are.

**30. Just**

"Can we not...? I mean, I'm sorry. I'm really tired, I just-"

"I _completely_ understand," he reassures her. They fall exhaustedly into bed and forget the last 36 hour shift.

**31. Smirk**

To begin with, she wanted to hit that stupid smirk off of his face. Nowadays she wants to kiss it.

**32. Sorrow**

If he can help it, he won't go to the hospital. He hardly goes to her grave and he doesn't hear from her family anymore. The grief has passed but there's always moments when he begins to wonder, what if…?

**33. Stupidity**

It's not until the words have left her mouth that she realises it was the wrong thing to say. The look he shoots at her hits her harder than any self-recrimination could.

**34. Serenade**

He can't sing. That much is clear. But to see the look of pure bliss on Kendall's face as Adam sings to her is worth any ear bleeding.

**35. Sarcasm**

His mother always said his tongue would get him into trouble. Now he's in Mac's office and feeling as though he's in front of the principle all over again.

**36. Sordid**

They would twist it. They would say it was a sordid affair that had been secretive for a reason. They would say he was too good looking and she too plain or she too good and he too nasty for her. Not that it mattered though for they knew the truth for what it was.

**37. Soliloquy**

It wasn't the kind of romantic monologue you'd expect from a movie or play, but the whole being the man you want him to be struck her nonetheless.

**38. Sojourn**

It's hardly a vacation when you're greeted with a fully loaded shot gun.

**39. Share**

He was a closed person. Almost painfully secretive but somehow, her Southern charm had dragged more from him than he believed possible.

**40. Solitary (part one)**

His biggest fear was confinement. He'd been confined before. Forced into a small room until he weaned off the drugs he'd become addicted to due to his wrist injury. That's why he didn't commit. He had relationships for the fun and for the laughs, not for the long term. Why should he force himself into that kind of enclosure, why should he… holy crap, who is _that_?

**41. Nobody (part two)**

For the past nine years I've been trying to get out of Bozeman. Now that I finally have, I feel overwhelmed but excited at the same time. This city is huge and I'm a tiny, insignificant person in it. To go from Bozeman where everyone knew my name to this is strange. It's also perfect.

**42. Neutral (part three)**

"So, you're from Montana," he states casually.

"Yeah, I am." I wonder if another teasing remark is heading my way.

"Okay."

**43. Nuance**

She'd only occasionally heard him play. Usually he had a mellow tone to his music, one that let the listener float away. Tonight, however, she could hear his pain.

**44. Near**

"The closest I've been to you in a month is in a damn hallucination. Why didn't you ever call me?"

"I didn't want to drag you into this."

He looked around the brightly lit street in Bozeman. "I'm kinda in this."

**45. Natural**

It was natural for him to think of his wife. Especially on that day, of all days. So how come for the first time in ten years, did he not feel almost crippled with grief?

**46. Horizon**

On the day that their divorce was finalised, she sat back and watched the sunrise whilst breathing a sigh of relief.

**47. Valiant**

He would always be a hero to her.

**48. Virtuous**

"Do you wish you'd had a proper wedding? Ya know, church, candles, guests, wedding dress…?"

"Danny… how could I wear a white wedding dress and proclaim my virtue whilst sporting an eight month pregnant belly?"

**49. Victory**

Winning the argument has lost its effect when he sees the look of hurt on her face.

**50. Defeat**

When the newspaper headline readings "Brave Detective Guns Down Suspect" he thinks it should read "Detective Kills Brother-in-Law"

He looks across into his wife's face, a careful mask concealing all emotion. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to…"

She gives a shrug, the movement jerky. Her voice is wooden, "you did what you had to."


End file.
